Hard To Love by Sabrina Ross Page B

to the valet who
approached him. Then his hand instantly took Cassie’s. Carson
and Olivia followed. I, however, startled by a voice from behind
me, turned before taking a step forward.
    “Bunch of stuffed
-up snobs, huh?” the handsome blond joked.
I looked at him queerly, then turned, looked at the other valets,
noticing that this guy wasn’t wearing a uniform. I turned back to
face him, a little wary.
    “I’m sorry
?” I said, my eyes automatically narrowing.
His cheek flushed and then he chuckled. “Sorry, I thought—”
I interjected, saving him from embarrassment. “It’s okay.”
“Daniel.” He held out his hand.
“Lauren.” I accepted. We managed to get through the front
    doors uninterrupted.
“Are you new here?” I asked.
“Sort of,” he replied, looking around the large dining room.
“You?”
“Not really.” I shrugged.
Then Cassie called out to me. As I turned, she was waving me
    down.
“Lauren, come on.”
I turned back to Daniel. “I should—”
“Of course. Sorry to bother you,” he said and turned to walk
    away.
“You didn’t bother me,” I said, touching his arm before he got
away.
His lips curved slightly. “Good to know. Enjoy your meal.”
Then he reached down, took my hand and kissed it. I smiled.
Whoever said chivalry was dead?
“You too,” I said, then slowly started walking towards Cassie. I
noticed, out of the corner of my eye, Mason leaning against the
pillar by the window, his eyes on me, arms folded across his chest.
When Cassie spoke, my attention diverted from Mason to her.
“Who was that?” Cassie asked, looking over my shoulder.
“Uh—Daniel?” I replied.
Her brow arched. “He was handsome.”
“Yeah, he was, wasn’t he?” I said.
Briefly, I glanced in Mason’s direction. He was still watching
me. I should have stuck to my senses and said no to Cassie about
joining them for dinner at the country club. I knew Mason was
going to be here. After I took a seat, Mason started to walk in my
direction. My heart pounded harder and harder against my chest.
Then I was thoroughly disappointed when he kept walking.
“You always seem to meet the cute ones,” Cassie teased.
“Yeah,” I muttered, still watching Mason. “What’s wrong with
Mason today?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged, looking at me, then over at
Mason. “Why? Do you have a thing for him?” she asked, grasping
my forearm. “I don’t care if you do, but I must warn you first.”
“No. God, no.” Who was I kidding I couldn’t stop thinking
about him since that first day in the forest. “I’ve heard all about
Mason,” I said. My neck craned to follow where he was headed.
He exited the dining area and I let out a sigh. “What’s on the
agenda for tonight?” My attention was on Cassie again.
“The club again,” Cassie replied. “There’s nothing else going
on right now.”
“I’m game for that. This time I’ll even dress up,” I said. Cassie
grinned. Then the waiter walked up, taking our drink order.
“So, Lauren. Tell us a little something about you.” Charlie
asked, sitting back in his chair, wrapping an arm around Cassie.
“Why has it taken this long for Cassie to introduce us?”
“Oh, uh, well—I have been living in L.A. for the past few
years,” I replied.
“Living the high life. How exciting. What was it like?” Carson
asked.
“It was fun.” I shrugged, wanting to change the subject. This
was a conversation I didn’t want to have.
“What brought you back to Portland?” he asked.
“Her mom was in need of some help,” Cassie interrupted,
saving me. Charlie glared as if to scold her for interrupting.
“Yeah—uh, my dad passed away, so Mom’s been alone all this
time. I figured it was time for a change of scenery.” A little white
lie didn’t hurt. I gave Cassie a nod, thanking her for saving me.
She smiled back. I preferred to be the silent one on these outings.
The waiter approached the table again, this time with our drinks
and